Is an Old Bike Worth Fixing?

Posted by Robert Woo

You’ve got an old bike in
the basement and, after years of moving it around folding tables, the
dehumidifier and all those boxes of family photos, high school yearbooks and
Christmas decorations, you’re ready to move it upstairs and outside—so you can
ride it again.

The paint looks good, no
rust to speak of, but it needs a lot of work. The tires are crusty, the
derailleurs are hard to move, the cranks are loose, the chain skips and the
brake shoes are hard as rocks.

Should you bring it into
Bushwhacker to be evaluated? Yes. Absolutely. It costs you nothing to have us
look at it.

Two Questions For You

But should you have us fix
it? After all, this isn’t just fixing a flat or replacing a couple of
cables--this could be expensive. That’s where we’ll ask you at least two
questions:

1) Are you comfortable on
the bike?

2) Are you willing to spend
what it will take to make the bike safe and reliable?

First, let’s talk about
comfort. Did you put the bike aside to take care of the triplets? Because you
moved out of the country? Or did you park it because the seat was killing your
butt and the handlebars were way too low?

If your body hurts from
thinking about it, think twice before spending the money. A new bike may fit
you better. When we see handlebars and seats at weird angles, that’s an
indicator that something isn’t right.

If you weren’t comfortable
on the old bike in the past, chances are good you won’t be comfortable
tomorrow, and the repaired bike will go right back into the basement.

Second: Are you willing to
spend the money it will take to fix the bike? If we say it’ll take $250 to
bring the bike up to snuff, will you immediately ask what we can do for $25?

If so, reconsider the
repair. Spending less than it takes to make it right is worse than spending at
all. A halfway job guarantees you won’t be happy.

Ask Your Advocate

If you’re comfortable on
the bike and you have the money to fix everything, it's decision time. Still
have concerns? Be ready to ask us--the people who want you to be happy with
your bike--a very important question:

What would we do?

Look, we ride and work on
our own bikes. We’re not rich. We’re careful with our money and our machines.
Use our experience. When we make a recommendation, we recommend what’s best for
you.

After all, we don’t want
someone leaving the shop with something that’s going to be a problem. We want
to deliver a safe and reliable bike. And sometimes that involves a bit more
than fixing a flat tire or lubing a chain.

The question isn’t whether
your bike can be fixed—it’s whether an extensive repair is a good use of your
money. As Marie Kondo < http://tidyingup.com> might say, will your restored bike spark
joy? Or would an all-new, totally up-to-date bicycle put a bigger smile on your
face?

Between a Hardrock and a Good Place

From an economic standpoint
there aren’t a lot of unused 25-year-old bikes that are worth resurrecting.
Let’s take a look at one of the exceptions.

John’s Specialized Hardrock
started life in the early 90s and cost between $320 and $350 back. (Similar quality
today might run closer to $700.) The frame was straight, the paint was in great
shape, and John was comfortable on the bike. (The adjustable stem was added a
few years ago, giving John the more upright position he wanted.)

Still, it had its problems.
The axle cones were damaged. The spokes were corroded. The tires weren't suited
to commuting. Plus, the push-push shift levers were broken and the brakes
needed new shoes.

The estimate, including all
parts, labor and new SKS fenders, was just under $500. John gave me a lot of
leeway to complete the job correctly.

Why? He didn’t like the
idea of throwing away something that still had value, and he knew the Hardrock
would make a great commuter bike.

We pulled everything off
the frame and sprayed the inside of the tubes with rust inhibitor. We rebuilt
the cup-and-ball bottom bracket with grade 25 bearings to give it a longer
life. The machine-built wheels, featuring stainless-steel spokes, are stronger
than the originals, and the Specialized Hemisphere tires are commuter smooth.
We also installed a complete set of powerful linear-pull brakes--for just a bit
more than the price of brake shoes alone.

What Would Woo Do?

Some people have a lot of
attachment to their bicycles.

I have a Bridgestone RB-1
with over 100,000 miles on it. I’ll never get rid of it. I was lucky enough to have coworker Dave
Atkinson refinish my RB-T. I’m not getting rid of that, either--not as long as
I can still find parts for it. I love my old Bridgestones.

Today, John’s Specialized
Hardrock is a great bike again. But its resurrection took more than hard-nosed
economics. It took a generous dollop of sentimentality, too. After all, while
this was a $500 repair, it is not, not even after the repair, a $500 bike.

This bike is worth more to
John than to anyone else.

And that’s a good thing.

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Robert Woo is a collector of many things. Old bikes should be treasured as much as old jokes. You may hear the same one over and over, but laugh every time. That's how we feel about many of the classic rides that never get old and some, like Robert's favorite whisky, get better with age.